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Democratic leaders are signaling they’ll scale back the party’s pent-up ambitions for Medicare expansion and drug pricing reform as negotiators eye the next phase of President Joe Biden’s sweeping infrastructure package. The “social infrastructure” piece of the $2 trillion-plus bill would be progressive lawmakers’ best chance to broaden the social safety net and curb pharmaceutical costs before the mid-term election, with Democrats’ full control of Washington on the line. It's also the only sure vehicle to make good on some of Biden’s signature campaign pledges, like lowering Medicare's eligibility age. (Ollstein and Luthi, 4/15)

A Senate hearing Thursday provided one of the clearest roadmaps to date for how Senate Democrats plan to use their newfound majority to advance new health care policies. The hearing was scheduled to let lawmakers vet both Andrea Palm, Biden’s pick to serve as deputy secretary of the federal health department, and Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, his pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but it accomplished little in the way of vetting. The two-and-a-half-hour meeting was cordial and barely touched on hot-button topics like abortion or coronavirus lockdowns. (Florko, 4/15)

Immigration policy and abortion restrictions were among the issues discussed with the newly confirmed Health and Human Services secretary during a House appropriations hearing Thursday on the administration’s fiscal 2022 health care budget. The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking a $131.7 billion overall fiscal 2022 request for HHS, a 23.5 percent increase over the 2021 enacted level. The White House on Friday revealed its budget blueprint, which would seek the largest budget discretionary funding increase for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in nearly two decades. (Raman, 4/15)

Even before the coronavirus pandemic has ended, President Biden is gearing up to tackle another public health crisis — this time for good. In his request for discretionary funding from Congress, Biden requested $670 million with the goal of ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic. With the money, the Biden administration is committing to “help accelerate and strengthen efforts to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States.” An estimated 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV today, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and roughly 1 in 7 don't know of their diagnosis. The disease has long battled the stigma related to racial minorities and the LGBTQ+ community, who are disproportionately affected by the epidemic.  (Srikanth, 4/14)

President Biden met Thursday with leaders of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, which has pushed for more Asian Americans in his administration and for a law to combat the sort of hate crimes against the group that have risen since the COVID-19 pandemic began in China. “We need to stand with the AAPI community,” Biden said, referring to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, before reporters were ushered out of the Oval Office ahead of the private meeting. (Stokols and Haberkorn, 4/15)

President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress will look like no other in recent memory. The traditional speech for the new president, set for April 28, will unfold against the backdrop of heightened security in the aftermath of the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot and ongoing coronavirus protocols. (Mascaro and Miller, 4/14)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Thursday that he will no longer be wearing a mask at the Capitol since he is fully vaccinated. "At this point I've been vaccinated. Everybody working in the Senate has been vaccinated," Cruz told CNN. "CDC has said in small groups, particularly with people who were vaccinated, don't need to wear masks.” (Lonas, 4/15)